Yesterday, IGN announced that Hollow Knight: Silksong will be playable at an Australian museum in September 2025, accompanied by the release of an exclusive sprite sheet from the long-awaited game. Predictably, the internet exploded with reactions.
"Why would they ever need a sprite of Hornet without her cloak?" questioned one Reddit user in a thread dissecting the images.
Among dozens of sprites featuring Silksong's protagonist Hornet in various combat and idle poses, one particular image shows her casually carrying her signature cloak under one arm. (We've cropped the controversial sprite below—you can also spot it on the original sheet toward the right side, beneath the topmost ring.)
"What possible in-game scenario would require her to drape her cloak like a tired dad coming home from work? This feels... wrong," remarked one bewildered commenter.
"Is this real??? There's no way this is actually going to be in Silksong. Is that seriously Hornet's base model?" wondered another, while someone else exclaimed: "WHAT KIND OF CONTEXT WOULD EVEN USE THIS SPRITE?"
From there, the discussion took an... enthusiastic turn.
"Guess we won't need mods for this one," noted one user, as another joked: "Instant ESRB Mature rating right here."
"HORNET PUT YOUR CLOAK BACK ON THIS IS SCANDALOUS," protested a thread creator, prompting replies like "This just looks unnatural" and "Totally unnecessary."
"I'm not okay with this," declared someone else.
The most reasonable explanation might involve customizable cloaks, but for now—let Hornet fans speculate to their hearts' content.
Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 Screenshots
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Team Cherry's sequel remains one of the most anticipated games worldwide, dominating Steam wishlists for years. Silksong briefly appeared during Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct last month, shortly before Team Cherry confirmed its 2025 release—much to fans' relief. With confirmation that the game will be playable at ACMI, Australia's national screen culture museum, starting September 18, some speculate a possible August launch, though nothing is confirmed.
The Melbourne museum will feature Silksong in its Game Worlds exhibition, alongside displays exploring the game's development and artistic vision.
